Lost Blue-Eyed Child
by Celtic Water Spirit
Summary: Judai was on his way home after helping out an old friend when Hane Kuriboh finds a lost girl that can see spirits. Judai jumps through hoops to find out where the girl came from. (Set several years after GX. Includes an OC, fianceshipping, and soulshipping.)
1. Maybe She's Mute

******Yu-gi-oh! GX  
Lost ****Blue-Eyed Child**

**Rated**: K+  
**Genre**: Mystery/Family  
**Summary**: Judai was on his way home after helping out an old friend when Hane Kuriboh finds a lost girl that can see spirits. Judai jumps through hoops to find out where the girl came from. (Set several years after GX. Includes an OC, fianceshipping, and soulshipping.)

_(Warnings: Set several years after GX. Includes an OC, already established fianceshipping and soulshipping __aka yearnshipping_ (this is not a shipping/romance fic so it's not about them), as well as Japanese names, but few Japanese phrases or titles. Yubel will be referred to with female pronouns. This is a clean story. If any of these things bother you, this is your fair warning, and you should turn back now.)

* * *

**Chapter 1: Maybe She's Mute**

Judai Yuki, the legendary slacker to come out of Duel Academy had become quite the adult. After high school, he went on to travel the world and have many adventures. He met all kinds of people, good and bad, seen many things, good and bad, and even traveled through time a little. His missions for a while included helping people with their spirits, dealing with spirit problems, and protecting the world. However, besides among the friends he had made around the world, he was most known as the E-Hero Duelist, one of the top professional duelists in Domino City.

That wasn't all he did with his life. He had learned a lot about his past with Yubel's help, who was still fused with his soul, which granted him more powers than what just his Haou side did. He had also joined forces with Yugi Mouto again. Finally, when there were more spiritual duelists around the world to help keep watch against threats, Judai was able to return to Domino more often, where he began the next stage of his life.

Recently, he actually settled down, somewhat, and got married to Asuka Tenjoin, now known as Asuka Tenjoin-Yuki. He had known her for a long time as a friend. After high school, he hadn't seen her for a few years while he traveled and she studied abroad. When he did see her again, he was blown away by the woman she had become. If hadn't been for Yubel, he probably would have thought himself undeserving of such a remarkable woman, but even Yubel, who was hard to please, had deemed her the most worthy woman to become his 'Queen' and wanted Judai to peruse her. Judai still rolled his eyes at those terms, as they were from another lifetime, but appreciated that Yubel was so supportive. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

For the past couple weeks, Judai had been up north working on a case with his old friend and spirit brother, Johan Andersen. Johan was having a problem catching a new spirit trapper and called Judai up for help. Together they were able to track down the culprit and save the day before any spirits got seriously hurt. Johan promised to help on the next mission Judai needed help with.

Judai had just left the airport and looked up at the skies above Domino City. "Good to be home, right Yubel?" he asked as he stretched and adjusted his travel bag on his shoulder.

Yubel appeared beside him. _"Indeed, as soon as we get home, I want you to rest, and then if your wife is fertile you should-"_

"Hey-hey, Yubel!" Judai groaned. "You know we're not ready for kids yet!"

Yubel rolled her eyes. _"If you were King you would have at least two heirs by now," _she tried.

"At least I know _you're_ ready for our family to grow," Judai sighed as he began walking. He didn't know where Yubel got the idea about already having two children in his other lifetime when that lifetime was too short to have had kids in the first place. "You know this reminds me a lot of the conversation I had with Johan the other day…" Not to his surprise, Johan's family was growing quickly since Johan always wanted a big family. It was probably due to the fact that the only family he really had were the spirits in his deck, which he didn't get to meet until he was about sixteen, and before that he really just had bugs that didn't talk back. Long story short, Johan and his wife had just had their third child and they planned to have more. Judai had no idea how Johan was able to do it. Though it did make sense, Johan had very supportive spirits on his side to back him up and keep him calm and focused no matter what.

"Judai Yuki!" someone called out and he looked over to see someone he didn't know. It was a kid of about twelve-years-old. "Can I get your autograph? I'm one of your biggest fans!"

"Whoa, sure you can!" Judai grinned as he took the kid's notebook and pen. "What's your name?"

"Hehe, it's Yuki!" the kid laughed.

"Alright!" Judai smiled as he began writing. This happened sometimes. Every once in a while, someone would stop him to say hello or even get a picture ever since he started dueling in the local regional Pro Leagues. To him, the Pro Leagues was really just a good way to earn a paycheck to pay for his travel expenses. Not to mention he loved dueling and seeing his friends that also participated in the pros. Heh, Manjoume still hadn't beaten him yet, even though Manjoume seemed to care less and less about that as each year passed. "Alright, there you go!" Judai finished and gave back the notebook.

Yuki began to read it out loud. "To Yuki, we should get our game on sometime! Your friend, E-Hero Judai Yuki!" Yuki looked up and grinned as Judai did his signature pose. "Thanks!"

"No problem!" Judai said. "Well I gotta go, be careful!" Judai waved as he began walking through the parking lot. As much as he would've liked to stick around and chat about dueling and cards, he did have other plans and someplace to be.

"Bye!" the kid waved and then ran back to his mom who was waiting nearby.

Yubel looked at Judai smugly. "What's with that look?" Judai questioned.

"_And you're worried you wouldn't be any good with kids," _Yubel began mockingly_. "Please, you basically are one at heart. What are you waiting for anyway?" _

Judai groaned. Johan had said something very similar to that and Yubel knew it. Yubel had been pestering him about having kids ever since he started dating Asuka! It didn't help when Johan of all people had to also take Yubel's side on the matter, though Johan was a bit more understanding of Judai's anxiety. "Yubel, we're not ready…"

"_But you're more ready than ever, I remember, you said that you and Asuka would have to get settled into your new living arrangements and careers first, I think that time has come," _Yubel argued.

"Curse your memory," Judai chuckled. Seriously, Yubel didn't forget anything, especially anything he said. "Look, I know Asuka wants to start a family at some point, but she's no more ready than I am, there's still the mental and emotional readiness now that the financial part is ready."

"_Very well," _Yubel said calmly, letting the subject go for now. _"Are you taking a cab home?" _Yubel asked.

"Yep," Judai nodded. "Or I could walk, but I'd like to get home on time for once," he chuckled. Yubel smiled at the humor just before she disappeared. Just then his cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He looked at it right away. It was a text message.

'From Asuka: Are you on your way home?'

'About to get a cab, see you soon.' Judai replied.

Once he was in a cab, he got another text message.

'From Asuka: How was the flight?'

'Long, but I slept through most of it lol.' Judai replied.

'From Asuka: I believe that.'

'Almost home :D' Judai replied.

He put his phone back in his pocket as the cab turned onto Rolling Green Boulevard and he could see his apartment building through the trees that lined the streets. He told the cab driver that he could just stop at the parking lot entrance and when the driver did, Judai thanked him and paid him before jumping out with his bag. "Ah! Good to be home!" Judai cheered as he looked up at the set of four story buildings. He and Asuka lived on the top floor of the second building. As he stepped up to his building, he was sure his wife was checking the window for him.

"Kuri, kuri!" the duel spirit of Hane Kuriboh suddenly popped out and flapped his wings frantically.

Judai stopped and looked at the floating brown ball of fur. "What is it, buddy? Something wrong?"

Hane Kuriboh flew off and motioned with its little green claw to follow. At this moment Yubel appeared as well. _"It is not danger, something else," _she told him.

"That's weird," Judai said and looked back up at his apartment building. Guess home will have to wait. He pulled out his phone again and fired off a quick text to Asuka.

'Kuriboh is worried, be back soon.' Judai sent.

"Okay, let's go, Hane Kuriboh!" Judai called as he ran to catch up with the little spirit.

Hane Kuriboh led Judai through the complex, forcing him to jump a fence that separated the complex from the local park. Then he was taken probably half a mile at least before the spirit disappeared around a corner and through some trees and brush. Judai almost thought he had lost the spirit until he heard its familiar voice.

"Hane Kuriboh? Kuriboh? Where'd ya go, pal?" Judai called as he looked around through the trees and brush, slowly pushing through and watching his footing. Then he heard something odd, it sounded like a little girl laughing.

Finally, he saw Hane Kuriboh bouncing in the air above a small child. The little girl could not have been more than four or five-years-old and already had long brown hair along with shockingly blue eyes against her pale skin. She wore a white dress with blue pants of some sort underneath, a light blue jacket, and brown sandals.

Judai stopped for a moment to analyze the situation. This appeared to be what Hane Kuriboh was so worked up about and it was obvious that the little girl could see Hane Kuriboh. In fact, she was quite happy to see the little spirit. Guess it was time to figure out what this was about.

Judai took a breath and stepped into the clearing. Neither the spirit nor the girl paid him any mind. "What are you doing over here, Hane Kuriboh?" he asked and the little girl jumped and looked at him with wide, scared eyes. He stopped walking and looked at them both. "Hi there," he smiled gently, but the little girl shrank away instead. Judai looked at the spirit who just looked worried. "My name's Judai, what's yours?" he tried, but was ignored.

He looked around, but it was just green foliage. There wasn't another person in sight. He couldn't even hear the voices of other people in the park on the other side of the trees. Something wasn't right, he knew that for sure. However, he didn't sense any kind of danger and neither did Yubel. In fact, it was kind of peaceful in the little clearing.

Then a serious problem struck him. "Why are you alone?" he addressed the child. However, she didn't answer and looked away, more interested in plucking the grass beside her. "Where are your parents? Did they tell you to stay here?" Judai tried, but again, she didn't answer.

Judai scratched his head, unsure what he was supposed to do or think. Even during all his traveling, he didn't have much experience with younger children. Johan's kids were one thing, given that those kids were always with an adult, and that they're even younger. Judai wished Asuka was here, she had more experience with children due to her teaching career and would be knowledgeable about what to do in this situation.

It was obvious that this child was alone, and that she was much too young to ever consider leaving alone. He was pretty sure that this girl hadn't even started school yet. Furthermore, he couldn't just leave her here either. Not only would that be irresponsible of him, but his conscious wouldn't allow it. If he had too, he would wait there until her guardian returned for her.

The wait might be a while, so he might as well make himself comfortable. He nodded to himself with that thought and sat down in the grass. After he relaxed his shoulders, Hane Kuriboh glided back over to him and rested on one of his shoulders. Judai smiled at the spirit who made a delighted sound. Then he looked back toward the little girl who had been staring at him in wonder. Though as soon as she realized his eyes were on her, she looked away again.

"Are you lost?" Judai asked. She only looked at him for a second and didn't answer. "It's okay to be shy, you don't have to talk to me, stranger-danger, right? Believe me or not, but I am here to help people, and Hane Kuriboh here tells me that you need my help."

"_Perhaps she's mute or unable to hear," _Yubel's voice said from within, but she did not appear. Due to her demonic appearance, she is careful to not startle people, especially children that are able to see spirits.

"If you don't want to talk, you can just nod and stuff, do you understand?" Judai tried.

The little girl looked at him for a second and her vibrant blue eyes seemed able to look right through him, or more like into his soul. That thought made him a little uncomfortable. If the girl saw Yubel, or worse, the darkest part of the Haou inside him, she may know how dangerous he could actually be if he chose to to be.

However, she smiled at him. He blinked at her and decided to try to talk to her again. "Are you lost?" he asked, and finally, she nodded. "Okay, how about we try to find your parents?" he said as he stood up. With a wide smile, she hopped up and grabbed two of his fingers. He was surprised by this, but allowed it. The contact would ensure that he doesn't lose sight of her too.

"Kuri…" Hane Kuriboh hovered by her head and she reached for him with a smile. Kuriboh then began to lead the way out of the clearing. It took a little longer for Judai to get out of the brush than it did to get in, but he was making sure the child didn't get snagged on a twig or low hanging branch. He didn't want to have to explain where a bruise or scrape came from to her parents when he found them.

"Your parents must be worried," Judai said as he looked around the park while the child continued to hold onto his fingers. There were people walking about, some were sitting in the grass, and if he looked in the distance, he could see a playground. "Do you know where your parents would be?" he addressed the blue-eyed girl.

She looked up at him and shook her head.

Judai adjusted the bag that was still on his shoulder using his free hand and looked towards the playground again. "Might as well start over there," he said and pointed towards the area and began walking with the girl. The journey was a little slow, since he could only walk as fast as the girl's small legs could take her. He probably wouldn't have noticed the walking speed if he wasn't in a hurry to find her parents.

There were children playing on the playground as mothers, fathers, or other caretakers watched or assisted. Judai looked down at the girl and watched where she was looking. She had looked around and then looked up at him and shook her head again.

"Not here, huh?" he sighed and looked around. "Do you know how long you were in there?" he asked, but she just shook her head again.

"_Perhaps she doesn't even have parents," _Yubel suggested.

"Were you with either of your parents when you got lost?" Judai asked, but the girl didn't answer at all. "Guess it's time to ask around…" Judai looked around the play area. If someone lost their child, they might have already asked the other parents if they had seen her.

First, Judai took out his cell phone to check the time. He still had time before he'd have to update his wife on when he was going to be home again. Putting his phone back in his jacket pocket, he saw a couple women with strollers sitting on a bench overlooking the play area.

"Excuse me," he began to get their attention. "Has there been anyone asking about a lost child?"

The women looked at each other before one answered. "No, did you lose your child?" she asked.

"Uh, no… I'm looking for someone who lost-"

"If you lost one of your kids, you should ask security and file a report right away," the other woman said.

"No-no, you don't understand, there's a missing child, but she isn't mine," Judai tried.

"But this one is yours, right? What it's like to be a single dad?" one of the women asked.

Judai was stunned with silence for a moment. "Wh-what are you… uh, never mind, thanks for your help anyway…" he said as he began to usher the small child away as quickly as he could. It was obvious that those women didn't know what he wanted to find out. Once he was out of earshot of the two women, he sighed in relief. "Well that was weird and awkward, not even Junko and Momoe are that random, sheesh."

Yubel and Hane Kuriboh shared a knowing look at Judai's ignorance before they both faded away again. Meanwhile, Judai looked down at the child that still held onto him. He supposed they looked a little alike, but he didn't see enough resemblance for those women to assume she was his daughter. Maybe it wouldn't have been as weird if they had asked if she was his sister, though he was starting to get a little old for that, despite not noticeably aging much since he was about nineteen. Still, the only similarity he shared with the girl was brown hair, and it wasn't even the same shade of brown. No matter, that wasn't important at the moment, so he continued to scan the faces of each person that passed by.

"Tell me if you see someone you know, okay?" he instructed the girl, and she nodded. He nodded back and they began walking away from the play area. It was very possible that this girl's caretakers already left and submitted a report. He had hoped she wasn't alone for more than a few minutes. It must have been terrifying if she was alone any longer than that. Judai supposed now he should try to find the nearest security guard or police officer.

Suddenly the girl stopped and Judai wondered if she saw someone she recognized. Instead, she was pointing at a poster advertisement. It had a large dramatic picture of the King of Games, Yugi Mouto, and one of the most famous duelists in Domino City, Jonouchi Katsuya. It had been years since Judai saw a poster with both of them, so he read it.

"Upcoming friendly nostalgia duel between Yugi and Jonouchi at the Kaiba Dome, reserve tickets today at…" Judai stopped. This certainly sounded intriguing and definitely something he would be interested in. He took a picture of the poster with his cell phone. "Hope I can get tickets to that, wonder if I could call Yugi and ask if he has any tickets to give away…" Judai wondered. It had been a while since he had last seen Yugi, and it was a little hard to figure out when Yugi last saw him, considering the time paradox that only gave him a headache to think about.

"_You actually spoke to him recently, it was during your meeting with Pegasus only a year ago during the Penguin Solider spirit situation," _Yubel reminded.

"Oh yeah…" Judai thought back. Who knew such a weak card could have such an angry spirit? He was able to take care of it though. Turned out the card was just mad, because some young duelists were making fun of it. "Anyway, I think I see a security guard," he said as he approached the woman in uniform. "Excuse me," Judai began to get their attention.

She looked at him and nodded in greeting. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"It seems this kid here can't find her parents, what should we do?" Judai asked.

The security guard looked at the girl and knelt down to speak to her. "Is that true? Did you lose your parents?"

Judai was a little offended that the security guard asked the girl for confirmation, though he did understand why, sort of. However, why would he lie about that? If he was a kidnapper, he certainly wouldn't be _looking _for where the girl belongs and certainly wouldn't have asked an authority.

Unfortunately, the girl shrank away from the woman in uniform and hid behind Judai's legs. Hane Kuriboh popped out again to try to console the child. The woman stood up again to address Judai with a serious expression. "I can escort you both to the police station to find out if there have been any missing child reports in the area today, as well as follow other procedures, can I get your name please?" she said a bit coldly.

"I'm Judai Yuki," he said with a straight face. She stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to place the name. "I'm a duelist, so you've probably heard of me before," he told her.

She nodded. "Can I see your ID please?"

Judai sighed. Did this woman seriously not believe him? "Sure, I guess," he said as he knelt down to set his bag on the ground. The girl didn't want to let go of his fingers, but she did eventually and grabbed the edge of his jacket instead. He opened up the front pocket of his bag where he retrieved three forms of ID. First was his driver's license, the second was his recently used passport, and the last was his Kaiba Corp. issued duelist registration ID which he got when he graduated Duel Academy and then updated when he entered the local Pro Leagues. "This good, or do you want to see my dueling deck too?" he asked.

"This is sufficient, please come with me," she said and he quickly put his things away and slung his bag over his shoulder again. As soon as his hand was free again, the blue-eyed girl took his fingers again. She sure had a grip on him too. He wondered if she was going to be willing to let go again. Luckily, she was only holding his left hand hostage, so he could still do everything he needed with his right at the moment.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

What happens in this story is not accurate of a real life situation. I did a lot of research about this topic. However, there was little to be found about what to do if you find someone's child who appears to be lost. Nearly all I could find had to more with what to do if you lose your child. Please forgive any errors in the handling and procedures. Though weird things can happen in fiction, this shouldn't get too weird. This is supposed to be a short story, more of an exercise, so we'll see how it turns out.

I'm not much of a shipper, but sometimes I like to muse about how some ships might work, so if any included ships don't seem very "shippy?", that's why.

Service Announcement type-thing: If you find a lost child, do not touch them in any way. They may touch you. If you are male, you have to be extra careful about this. Talk to the child and find out if they are actually lost or if they were told to wait, even if they cried as a result of being left. If lost, you can wait around with them for at least a few minutes to see if their guardian returns promptly, but then get help. They suggest first finding a mother with her own children to help you so you can call proper authorities or to find an authority if in a public setting such as a mall with cops nearby. There is a risk that the lost/abandon child's guardian may appear and start screaming at you, but you are urged to remain calm and keep a safe distance to avoid physical conflict. In this case, it's best to remember at least the worst didn't happen and the child is safe. Even if the guardian thought you were a kidnapper, they will likely not leave their child unattended in the same way again, so a lesson has been learned.

Notifications of errors/typos should be through PM instead of review so review doesn't become irrelevant after correction is made. Thank you. (This note is on all my newer stories.)


	2. No, She's Not My Daughter

**Yu-gi-oh! GX  
Lost Blue-Eyed Child**

**Chapter 2: No, She's Not My Daughter**

After a short and lackluster chain of events, Judai found himself having to wait in the nearby Police Station. The little girl he found alone and lost in the trees by the park near his apartment was now sitting in the chair next to him. They were simply waiting until someone told them what to do next. Hopefully her parents or guardians would be on their way soon.

She still had not spoken a word to anyone. Hadn't even told anybody her name or even her age on her fingers. It was possible she was scared, shy, or mute. They weren't sure. A child counselor tried to talk to her for several minutes, and he even just sat with her silently for a bit, while Judai was still in eyeshot at a desk filling out some paperwork about what happened and how he found her. After years of traveling the world, he knew to keep the parts about his spirit partners out of the story when it came to the law enforcement. For some reason, they seemed to judge him harsher when he was completely truthful. Even Yubel thought it was better to go about it this way, especially in Domino City where problems with dueling spirits seemed to be unusually high and the law enforcement were completely incompetent.

"What's going to happen if you can't find her parents?" Judai asked as he finished up the papers.

"Hopefully they can find somebody that knows her that they can temporarily release custody to," the counselor told him. "In the worst case scenario, child services will put her in a foster home until further notice."

Judai nodded as he thought for a moment. "I know she looks Japanese, but is possible she speaks another language?" Judai suggested. "I got her to nod when I asked if she was lost though, but now I'm not so sure if she understood much?"

The counselor nodded and put his hand to his chin as he thought. "There's a lot of languages… and I will admit even my English is lacking these days."

"I've traveled the world, so I can piece together some questions for her," Judai said as he scratched the side of his face with one finger. "And my wife studied abroad in America so her English is absolutely flawless. Her German and Dutch are pretty good too."

"Would you mind if she came here, if she's available?"

"It'll take some explaining," Judai scratched his head. "But sure, I'll just explain when she gets here," he said as he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial.

It rang three times on the other side before she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Judai started.

"Judai, I got your text, did something happen? Are you alright?" she asked hurriedly.

"Whoa, slow down," he chuckled. True, sometimes something more serious did happen, so she had a right to be worried after he ran off after Hane Kuriboh right before getting home. "I'm at the Police Station right now, could you come down here?"

"What!?" she exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"It's not like that! I just need your help with something, I can explain in more detail when you get here," he told her. "And can you bring me a snack? I'm hungry."

"Sheesh… fine, I'll be right there and bring you a snack," she said. "See you soon."

"Thanks! See ya!" Judai said before he hung up. He considered himself lucky that she was so understanding. She didn't question him or press for details. Considering his obligations, it was sometimes better to act first and ask questions later. She knew he'd explain everything when the important part was out of the way.

Judai informed the counselor and the police officer that his wife would arrive shortly to help. Then he sat down and let his head fall back for a few seconds. He was kind of tired too.

"What did your wife travel abroad for?" the counselor asked as the blue-eyed girl flipped through a magazine to look at the pictures.

"Huh?" Judai didn't realize the man was talking to him for a second. "Oh, dueling and teaching, she went to Duel University in America and then she had to do a lot more stuff here to be able to teach at Duel Prep. She went there in middle school, apparently the teachers there are really skilled and carefully picked," Judai explained.

"I am well aware of the prestige of teaching at Duel Prep, your wife is actually more qualified than I am to work with children," the counselor chuckled in jest, even though it was kind of true. "She must be brilliantly intelligent."

"Heh, I'll say," Judai nodded. "She worked really hard too," he added.

"Her family must be really proud of her."

"You bet, she deserves where she is now, and she earned it on her own," Judai nodded again.

"I look forward to making her acquaintance," he said. "You're a duelist right? Judai Yuki, regional professional?" he asked.

Judai nodded again. "You were trying to figure out how I'm married to her, what she saw in me, that sort of thing, right?" Judai smirked. He had literally received those questions before, granted, mostly from Manjoume.

"Well, I will admit, I was a little curious," he chuckled as he scratched the back of his head and bowed apologetically.

"Ah, it's fine," Judai shrugged. "We make a good team you know. Made an unstoppable tag team our senior year at Duel Academy," he said.

"Oh so you've been together since high school?"

Judai snapped his head towards the man in surprise. "What? Oh no, we were just good friends and rivals back then, I still had a lot of growing up to do before a girl like her would've been interested in me."

The counselor was about to say something when another officer stepped in. "There have been no reports of a missing child that matches her description, we're contacting the next branch up and see if she's from one of the neighboring cities or towns," he informed.

"Thanks," Judai said just to fill the silence before it could come.

"Hopefully, if her guardians haven't realized she's missing yet, they will report it right away," he added. "Until then, we might have to make other arrangements for her."

"_She is near," _Yubel's voice echoed from within. Judai looked out the window, and sure enough, Asuka was getting out of her charcoal-colored sedan which was parked in front of the Police Station.

"That was fast," Judai commented and made his way towards the door. The little girl looked at him with wide eyes as he proceeded to open the door as if he was going to leave, but then a woman entered with dark blonde which was gathered at the base of her neck with a navy-colored clip, leaving just her bangs to frame her face. Only a streak of brown eye-shadow accented her hazel eyes. With navy-colored knee high boots, a black skirt, and a fashionable navy-colored top, she looked like a professional and intelligent woman. The only jewelry she wore was a wedding band.

"What's wrong that you needed me to come down here?" Asuka asked.

Judai closed the door behind her and placed his hand on her back as he ushered her to the area he had been waiting at. The social worker's jaw dropped when she stepped into the room. "Well, there's this little girl I need your help with," Judai started.

Asuka looked at the girl and then glared at her husband. "What did you do?"

Judai stepped back. "What?"

"Is she yours?" she questioned.

"Mine? What are you talking about?" Judai defended.

"Judai, if you have a daughter and you didn't tell me…" she didn't get to finish when Judai chuckled.

"No-no, she's not my daughter," he started. "I just found her and she was all alone for who knows how long, so we're trying to find her parents, the problem is that she won't talk so I was asked if you could come ask some questions in other languages," he explained.

Asuka sighed in relief and smiled softly. "Of course I can," she said. "Oh, and I brought you your snack," she said and handed him a small paper sack.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed and looked inside before taking out a rice ball to munch on. "You're the best!" he said with his mouth full.

The counselor jumped to his feet. "You must be Yuki-san, I am Doctor Kouga, a psychologist that works with the police regularly," he introduced himself.

She bowed her head. "My students usually call me Tenjoin-sensei," she mused aloud.

"Oh, I apologize!"

Asuka smiled and stepped passed him, "Nothing to worry about, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said and sat down in the chair next to the little girl.

Doctor Kouga stepped over by the door to stand close enough to Judai to whisper. "Wow," he said in amazement. "First everything you told me about her, and now that I see her too, I have to know… you know… how?"

Judai laughed and looked proud of himself. "How in the world she agreed to marry a guy like me?" he guessed with a grin, leaving the other man to just nod shyly, not wanting to say it aloud, however, Judai seemed to have no problem talking about it. "Good question, wish I had an answer for you," he shrugged.

Yubel scoffed at the man and began to list reasons why it was Asuka who was good enough for Judai, not the other way around. Yubel would accept nothing less than the best for her beloved soul partner. Asuka was one of few people that passed Yubel's strict judgment. Judai wasn't even sure what all that really entailed.

"You seem like you never really questioned it yourself."

"Nope, she's one of my best friends and we're a great team, it just makes sense to me, to us, but it's just hard to explain it to others," Judai said and looked at her.

Doctor Kouga looked too. "You're very lucky to have that," he said.

"Yeah," Judai nodded.

They listened to Asuka try another sentence. Judai recognized it as German. She was simply asking for her name. Just as he feared, the girl looked even more confused and then looked at Judai with a look that was clearly asking for help. Sho Marufuji often had a similar look during freshman year.

"Guess she's not German," Judai shrugged.

"Why try German in the first place?" Doctor Kouga asked.

Judai just shrugged at first. "We once hosted a German exchange student to attend Duel Prep for three months." Judai explained. "Granted they were here to learn more Japanese, so by the end we heard very little German." Judai left out how he was barely present during those months because he was busy running around the world after members of a crooked organization in the dueling world. That was a tough one.

"You hosted an exchange student?"

"Yeah, it was a part of some Duel Prep program that Asuka wanted to try since she was recommended to host," Judai explained. "That was almost a year ago now, so I hardly remember any of the German I learned. Asuka kept up on it better than I did."

"Ah, I see," he nodded and they listened to some sentences spoke in English and then Dutch.

Finally, Asuka stood up and faced the men. "I'm sorry I couldn't help, I think she understands Japanese best, but she either won't or can't speak," she said. "Did something happen that might have traumatized her?" she asked.

"No idea," Judai answered. "If we can't find her parents soon, she'll have to go to a foster home for awhile."

"I see," Asuka said as she thought for a minute. "And there haven't been any reports of a missing child? No one's looking for her?"

"I hope they are and that they report it soon," Judai said. "I planned to wait here until they figure out what to do next."

"Sounds like that's going to be a while," Asuka observed. "And you just got back from Scandinavia, you haven't even gone home yet," she said.

Judai shrugged. "I'd like to go home, but I can't just turn my back on someone in need of my help…"

Asuka sighed heavily before she smiled at him. "I know, that's just the way you are." She stood up, pecked his cheek with a light kiss, and headed for the door leading out the room and into the office area.

"Where are you going?" Judai asked.

"I have an idea, so I'm going to talk with someone in charge here." She left before Judai could ask anything else.

"Wait, what?" Doctor Kouga asked.

Judai simply shrugged and took a seat again. "I dunno, she'll tell us when she gets back." Judai looked at the child sitting next to him. She was staring at him. "What do you think?" Judai asked her, but she looked down. "You know, I think you're being a good girl, kids aren't supposed to talk to strangers," Judai commented and picked up another magazine and gave it to her to look at.

"But even children are taught that they should speak to authority figures like police officers, doctors, and teachers," Doctor Kouga said.

Judai looked at the girl and then at Doctor Kouga. "Maybe she wasn't, and maybe there's a reason," he said.

The former Osiris duelist wondered deeply about it. His own past back at Duel Academy had taught him there were teachers he couldn't trust. Chronos-sensei was awful that first year and a part of the second. The academy chairman, Kagemaru, caused enough problems during the first year too. Then there was Cobra and Kouji Satou during his third year. People of authority couldn't always be trusted, even if those people had reasons for their actions. Even doctors or police officers were not always upstanding as Judai witnessed during his travels. Then, there was himself. He once acted as a king, the highest authority, and yet he used his powers for less than honorable actions at one time.

"I mean, she trusted me enough to get help and now she's here where she's not going to get hurt," Judai said. "So she might have good instincts."

"Interesting," Doctor Kouga thought about it. "I supposed that is pretty lucky. Some children go missing and never turn up again, at least by finding a way here, as soon as she's reported missing, she'll be home again."

Judai nodded in response and they fell silent for a few minutes. Doctor Kouga was obligated to stay in the room so the child wasn't left unattended or alone with Judai. They were all getting bored quickly. Doctor Kouga stared out the window for a minute.

"Is that your car?" Doctor Kouga asked idly.

"The dark gray sedan?" Judai asked.

"Yeah."

"That's Asuka's, I use it sometimes though," Judai answered.

"Use a lot of the public transit?"

"Yeah, but I also have a motorcycle," Judai added.

"Nice, what color?"

"_You're making a friend,"_ Yubel chuckled.

"Red," Judai grinned. "It's kind of my color," he said as she stretched his arms above his head and then tried to cover a yawn. "Man, I am ready to hit the hay," he said before he yawned again. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to close my eyes for a bit," he said as he leaned back his head against the wall. Doctor Kouga simply gave a light grunt in response. After years of traveling and wandering the world, he could sleep anywhere and in nearly any position.

Judai listened to the environment around him. Doors were opening and closing, vehicles drove by outside, and a bicycle rang a bell as they passed. He could also hear some voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. He recognized Asuka's voice. For some reason he just remembered he was going to call Johan to let him know he got home alright, and that he didn't get swept up in another adventure on the way home. Judai supposed that kind of happened anyway, otherwise he wouldn't be taking a catnap in a police station.

Time must have escaped him, because he was roused from his light sleep over an hour later. Asuka had gently pinched is ear to wake him up. It worked every time. He didn't like his ears touched much and was pretty sensitive about it for unknown reasons. When he opened his eyes, he had to rub them first before he could see the clock on the wall. It was already getting dark out.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Long story short, she will be coming home with us tonight if no one comes forward for her," Asuka explained.

"With us? Is that allowed?" Judai asked.

"Do I need to explain the requirements of a Duel Prep professor again?" she asked and Judai simply chuckled and sweat a little. "And besides, I just spent the last hour on the phone and filling out paperwork so she could be released into my custody on a temporary basis."

"I guess she will need a place to sleep tonight. I don't think she'd want to stay here or at a foster home, that's just more strangers," Judai laughed and then noticed the girl shake her head quickly. "See, she agrees."

"I still have some paperwork to go over, more of the legal obligations and policies of foster care, but this isn't our first time hosting a stranger's child, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," she said.

"How much longer until we're all out of here?" Judai asked and glanced over at the girl.

"I don't know, but it could be another couple hours," Asuka said. "You need to sign some papers too by the way, but after that you can head home if you're too tired to hang around."

Judai felt a tug on his sleeve. He didn't need to think about his options. "Nah, I think I'll stick around until it's time to go." He looked around the room and didn't see Doctor Kouga. "Where's the Doc?" he asked.

"He's getting us a copy of his contact information in case anything comes up," Asuka said.

"Oh good," Judai said and looked over at the girl again. "Hear that, you get to spend the night at our place, it'll be a lot of fun, I have a bunch of video games we can play!" She smiled widely in response, but still didn't speak. "I think we're good with that idea," Judai told Asuka, who laughed softly.

As Asuka walked away, she mumbled something about there being two children tonight.

Hane Kuriboh flew out of Judai's deck and chirped happily above their heads before settling on top of Judai's hair. Judai looked up at the small creature and smiled. Hane Kuriboh gently glided through the room and the girl watched the monster closely.

"What do you think, Buddy?" Judai started. There no one was around to see him talking to seemingly empty space anyway. "Feel like entertaining a guest for a night?" Hane Kuriboh landed on the girl's lap and made a happy sound while nodding and flapping its wings. "That means he's happy to have you," Judai grinned goofily.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Here's an alternate scene (but not really):

_Asuka looked at the child and then at her husband. "If I find out this child is actually yours, Judai, we'll be divorceshipping faster than you can blink…"_

Basically the girl is young enough and resembles Judai enough, that he could feasibly be her father. However, he doesn't seem like the one night stand type nor the adulterous type, so this is not that kind of story.

So now you should see why I made Asuka an important part of this story. Realistically, unless avoiding the police and social services altogether, Judai would not end up holding custody of someone's child that he just found lost and alone. Asuka, on the other hand, could with a strong background in education and working with other people's children as an elite private school teacher with hosting experience. Hope that makes sense. It might be a stretch as far as real legal matters tend to go, but as I said in my first Author's Note for this story, this shouldn't get too weird.

Wonder where on Earth her real guardians could be and what they are doing?


	3. The Extra Room

**Yu-gi-oh! GX  
Lost Blue-Eyed Child**

**Chapter 3: The Extra Room**

It was getting late by the time the three of them arrived back at the apartment. Asuka pulled the car into its usual parking space and they all got out of the car and headed up the stairs. With just a press of a remote button, the car beeped as it locked and set the car alarm. The halls and stairways were open and illuminated during part of the evenings.

"We're on the top floor," Judai told the girl as he walked behind them, while carrying his travel bag over his shoulder.

No one had showed up to claim the girl and she was falling asleep along with Judai in the waiting area at the police station. With businesses closing up and the sun going down, it was time to send the girl home with her selected temporary caretakers. Hopefully, everything would be resolved by morning. Asuka was on standby and was requested to keep her mobile phone handy at all times in case something happened during the night.

Asuka unlocked the door and they went inside a somewhat spacious apartment of mostly grey and blue. The furnishings were Western and fairly simple with a slightly modern touch. Asuka slipped off her shoes and continued through the apartment to turn on the lights. She left her bag on the dining table as she walked by it.

"I'm going to get the clean covers for the bed in the guest room, I'll only be a minute," she said as she disappeared into the hallway.

"Alright," Judai called. He had already closed the front door behind him and was slipping off his own shoes. "Go ahead and take off your shoes," he instructed the girl.

As she worked on getting her brown sandals off, Judai left his travel bag in the front area and hung up his jacket. Then he plopped himself down on the sofa in the nearby living area and heaved a large sigh as he relaxed and put up his feet on the table. He looked ready to go nowhere and perfectly content about it.

"Good to be home, and it looks like we might actually get to stay awhile this time with the way things have been trending, right Yubel?" Judai looked over expecting to see Yubel's spirit manifestation seated beside him as she usually was when they got home after traveling. She wasn't showing herself and Judai remembered why. "Oh right," Judai said as he looked at the girl still standing in the doorway. "Come sit down and we'll watch some cartoons," Judai offered as he reached for a remote to turn on a wall mounted television.

_"As long as a new threat doesn't appear, I would like you to take it easy for a while, you need a break,"_ Yubel's voice told him._ "You're not… as young as you used to be," _she added humorously. Sometimes they joked about that since he often spoke of how easily he got tired lately. He was still in very good shape though, but the frequent travels eventually wore him down and he required a vacation just like anyone else. Then there were times when old injuries were already coming back to haunt him.

As he found some cartoons, the blue-eyed child slowly proceeded further into the apartment until she reached the sofa and climbed up on it. He turned up the volume a little and placed the remote on the armrest before relaxing again. After a yawn escaped he let his head fall back and closed his eyes.

"The guest room is ready," Asuka said as she came back in. "I put a shirt on the bed for you to sleep in," she said to the girl. "I can put your clothes in the wash so they'll be clean for tomorrow."

The girl looked at Judai for reassurance or guidance, but he wasn't paying attention. He wasn't asleep yet, but he was certainly checked out mentally for the day. Asuka stepped behind the sofa and placed her hands on his shoulders. He cracked an eye open and look up at her standing behind him.

"I heard you," he said.

"I was going to go ahead and make us something to eat for a late dinner," she told him.

"Sounds good, thanks," Judai smiled.

"You sure are tired. I thought you said you slept on the plane?"

"I did, but it was lightly and frequently interrupted," he explained. "Want some help?"

"That would be nice, but if you're so tired you should probably just head to bed," she told him.

"I'll be fine, I'm more hungry than tired now anyway," he chuckled as he stood up.

"If you say so, you can start setting the table," she offered.

"What are we making?" Judai asked as he followed his wife to the kitchen.

She was about to answer and then paused. "Honestly, I planned to go out tonight since you were originally going to be home so early."

Judai scratched the back of his head. "Heh, sorry," he apologized about the inconvenience. This wasn't the first time he brought home a near-stranger to sit at their table for an evening. Sometimes he would make a random friend and want to talk for hours about dueling, so eventually Judai would invite them home for dinner. Asuka was prepared for situations such as unexpected dinner guests, but this was the first time they had a young child dining with them.

"Perhaps we have something a little more kid-friendly to make tonight," Asuka pondered aloud as she opened a couple cupboards. Judai looked in the freezer and then the refrigerator.

"Should we order delivery?"

"Maybe, it's kind of late for that though, and we would still have to decide," Asuka said. "What did you eat recently?"

"I've been getting sandwiches on the go," Judai answered. "How about you?"

"Just the usual." Asuka suddenly spotted something in one of the cupboards. "Ha, perfect," she smiled as she reached for it. Judai watched as she started taking out items and place them on the counter. When he figured out her idea, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

Rice, tempura, and some fruit should be agreeable to the girl. They would just ask her, but she hadn't answered many other questions today. Asuka was also going to fry some carrot wedges. There wasn't going to be any time to make some soup too, but they were probably going to head to bed soon after dinner anyway.

Judai put some water on for tea and got the dishes ready before sitting back down to watch cartoons. "So we didn't get to play video games today, so we'll play some tomorrow, okay?" he asked. She looked at him for a second and then turned her attention back to the television. He felt like he was just brushed off, but remembered she has been like this all day, besides the little communication she's had only with him. She has ignored everyone else to a further extent.

Everything was prepared in little time and they set everything on the table. Asuka asked the girl to eat with them, and she did, albeit wordlessly. As Judai cleaned the dishes after they finished, Asuka got the girl ready for bed.

Asuka hoped the girl didn't require any medication, but had a guest pack of travel toiletries so the girl was at least able to brush her teeth and wash up. The clothes Asuka had found for the girl were still too big, but acted as a night gown while Asuka got her clothes in the wash. They were quite dirty from her time alone in the foliage. As Asuka started the washing machine, she mused that her husband's laundry was going to have to wait until the next day, not that he took many clothes with him on his travels. She didn't really like to think about that though. Long ago she decided she was better off not knowing how many days he would go before changing his underwear while he was on an adventure. Therefore, she tried not to think about it. He had always been a little more lax about his hygiene than she was, and she accepted that before she married him. It was no mystery, but still not something she particularly liked about him. However, he was fairly on top of his cleanliness while he was home, so at least she didn't have to worry about that.

When Asuka put the girl to bed, the child fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Asuka was glad for that as she turned the lights out and headed to her bedroom that she shared with her husband. She noticed while still in the hallway that all the other lights in the apartment appeared to be turned off other than their bedroom light.

She entered the room after turning off the hallway light and saw Judai collapse on the bed heavily. He sighed into the covers since he was lying face down.

"Aren't you going to at least change first?" Asuka said as she closed the door and then made her way over to her dresser so she could retrieve her night clothes. She heard him mumble into the covers and he didn't budge. He was exhausted and she knew it. "You know you can't take up the whole bed either, right?" she said since he was sprawled across parallel to the pillows.

Judai pushed himself to roll over and yawned. "So tired…"

"I know," Asuka said sympathetically. "But if you can't get up, then I'm going to have to take your clothes off for you." She immediately regretted saying that when she saw him smirk. "Not like that you prev," she sighed and smacked his leg as she walked by.

"Ow," he said, even though it didn't hurt. He sat up and saw her begin to dress before he finally stood up and got changed himself.

He even managed to brush his teeth before getting back into bed. Asuka was only going to be another minute as she finished washing up. He did his best to wait up for her, but he was fading fast. Their bed was the most comfortable bed he'd ever been in. It was one of the things he looked forward to the most on his journeys back home.

Asuka returned and slid into bed by getting under the covers. She didn't reach for her digital reading device or even a crossword as she went straight for the remaining lamp on her end table and turned it off, leaving the room in gentle darkness. Moving closer to him, she rested up against him on her side. He could barely keep his eyes open more than a crack, but still wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, urging her to use him as her pillow. He was asleep within seconds after she got situated and she followed soon after.

As per usual, Asuka was the first to rise. Like most first mornings right after Judai got home from his travels, she was surprised to find him in their bed. There was always a second where she wasn't sure who it was. By the second morning, they always returned to their normal lives.

She sat up and looked at him. He was still sleeping, so she brushed his bangs to one side. This only caused him to stir a little and stretch out his legs. He made a noise as he kind of said something, but he wasn't going to wake. Asuka shrugged and then got up and picked out her clothes for the day before she left to wash up and start breakfast.

On the way to the kitchen, she remembered the clothes in the washer and put them in the dryer. She could get Judai's laundry started later, or he could start it himself if he remembered first, as long as he remembered how to use the machine.

Asuka put on water to boil and got the rice cooker ready. When she turned around to set the table, she saw the mute nameless girl that her husband found yesterday coming out of the extra room. The girl probably heard that Asuka was up.

"Good morning," Asuka greeted, but didn't wait for the girl to respond. She knew the girl was either set on not saying a word or mute. "Your clothes are in the dryer right now and will be done before breakfast is done. Do you want to help set the table?"

The girl fiddled with the edge of her large shirt and looked around the apartment with concerned eyes.

"Judai is still sleeping, he'll be out for breakfast when it's ready," Asuka smiled, guessing that's what the girl was looking for.

Asuka wasn't surprised when the girl remained silent, but was surprised when the girl quickly entered the kitchen and reached for the stack of bowls on the counter and took them to the table. Asuka thought it was cute how the girl had decided to help so it would be done sooner.

"Judai likes fish, but I can make you some chicken or extra sausage if you like those better," Asuka offered, but the girl shook her head. "So fish is fine?" Asuka asked and the girl nodded. "And do you like fried eggs?" Again, the girl nodded. "Alright, while I cook those, how about you wash some vegetables and peel a few mandarins?"

Asuka didn't cook meals for three often, but it wasn't a challenge and does not take lot of extra time. She even made sure to prepare a smaller portion of fish for the guest. She wished she had something simple like cereal that she could offer the girl. However, even if there was any cereal in the pantry, it wouldn't be the sweet kind that kids tend to like more. Neither she nor Judai had much of a sweet tooth, and when they did, they didn't partake in it for breakfast. Mandarins were sweet enough at breakfast.

Once the table was almost set, Asuka decided to give the girl another task. "Would you get Judai for me while I get your clothes out of the dryer?" she asked. The girl nodded and ran off down the hallway. Asuka forgot to consider how the girl was going to wake him up without speaking.

As Judai still lingered between dreamland and waking, he thought he heard someone say his name. He didn't think anything of it, he was still asleep after all, but not for long. Judai woke up when someone pinched his ear, causing him to only smack himself when he tried to stop them. Groggily, he cracked open a blurry eye expecting to see Asuka frowning down at him for sleeping in.

He had to blink a couple times when instead he saw brown hair and deep blue eyes. Even he tried to remember his life and if had a child of his own already before yesterday's events came rushing back to him. Judai sat up with his feet on the floor while he rubbed his eyes for a second.

"Did Asuka send you to come get me?" he asked and the girl nodded. "Is breakfast ready?" he asked and the girl nodded again. Judai grinned at that. "Alright!" he said and stood up. He hurriedly opened a dresser and grabbed clean clothes for himself. "I'll be there in just a minute!" he said before disappearing into the bathroom to get ready.

Asuka stepped out into the hallway and found the girl standing outside the bathroom. "Your clothes are dry, so how about you get dressed too?" she offered. The girl wordlessly took her clothes and went back to the room she was using.

Asuka wished the girl would communicate little more in some way. Maybe she would in time. However, she hoped that time would not be necessary and that she would be returned home soon. Asuka was actually rather surprised that she hadn't received a single call about the girl and the status of finding her parents. She desperately tried not to think of the worst, but what if the girl came from an abusive home and was abandoned? Who could do such a thing? What if being found by Judai was the best thing that could have happened to her? What will happen to her if they don't find her home? There were so many questions.

Asuka's mind continued to ponder the possibilities while at the same time she tried not to. She went back to the kitchen and poured some tea, but simply stared into the liquid.

"Are you alright?" Judai's voice came from behind her.

She turned to face him and gave him the cup she was holding. "I'm fine," she said before pecking his lips and turning back to get another cup of tea.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty worried," he pressed.

"Just thinking about when we might hear from the police about the investigation," she said and they both sat down.

"I'll head back there later to talk to them," he said.

"I have to work tomorrow, so unless I can get her in the daycare nearby, you'll have to stick around and provide supervision," Asuka said.

"Well, hopefully another day won't be needed, good to have a plan though," Judai said. "Anyway, it's time to eat," he said and started with the first bite. "It's good," he praised when he swallowed. He really did appreciate how she cooked for him.

The girl came back in and looked at them. "Come sit," Asuka gestured an empty chair. The girl did as she was told. Judai was already eating enthusiastically and not really paying as much attention to the girls. "You better hurry up and eat something, otherwise Judai will get to it first," Asuka laughed causing Judai to pause and pout at her.

"What? I wouldn't do that," Judai defended. Asuka simply looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "It happened once," he muttered and she looked at him again in the same way. "Okay, twice, but that was a long time ago!"

"I know, kidding," Asuka laughed softly before she went back to eating.

Judai saw the girl beginning to eat as well and went back to finishing his own food.

After only a couple minutes, Asuka's phone rang so she excused herself to answer it. Judai didn't listen in and kept eating since he was almost done. He remembered he still needed to call Johan to let him know his trip back to Domino was successful. Sometimes weird things happened which put Judai on a whole other adventure when he was supposed to be home bound. It hadn't occurred in a while, due to Judai's massive ally network around the world helping him in his quest to not only bond the humans with the spirits, but also keep the peace so he is only called for more serious or world threatening problems these days. This didn't mean he got to relax between his travels though. There were always weird things happening in Domino that he found he needed to address. This city seemed to attract trouble and people who needed help with spirits.

Asuka returned to the table. "They investigated all night and didn't find anything, no one has come forward either, and I'll be updated again later today," she said. "It's likely her guardians don't know she is missing yet, like if she was supposed to be with a babysitter or at a birthday party, that kind of thing, so we need to give it some more time."

"Weird," Judai said. Honestly, he wasn't expecting any good news. His intuition told him the investigation wasn't going to help. This left one thing. "After I'm eating, I'll head out with Hane Kuriboh and Yubel and we'll see what we sense in the area," he said.

"Do you think this is related to monster spirits?" Asuka asked. Every once in a while a seemingly unrelated matter did in fact involve monster spirits.

"Not really, but it doesn't hurt to check," Judai explained. "Will you be okay here with her?" he asked his wife.

"I think we'll be fine, like you said yesterday, there's lots of video games we can play until you get back," Asuka smiled at the girl. "Just remember, I have to work tomorrow, so if this isn't solved by tomorrow morning, you're going to be in charge."

Judai saluted. "No problem," he grinned. He finished up his meal and rinsed his dishes before gathering his keys, deck, duel disk, and mobile phone. "Alright, heading out!" He stopped at the door while Asuka took her dishes to the sink.

"Good luck," she said.

Judai got his motorcycle and rode it to the police station. He updated the counselor in person about the girl's behavior and that she still wasn't speaking. The investigation was currently looking into foster and group homes to find out if any of them lost the girl.

When he left not long after arriving, he tossed his keys in the air and caught them as he strolled back to his bike. Next he was going to check around the place he had found the girl for any more clues that he, Yubel, or Hane Kuriboh could pick up on. There has to be something somewhere that would point him in the right direction and he found out long ago that the authorities could and would only do so much.

"Let's see…" Judai wondered as he drove by the park he was at yesterday. He was trying to find the cluster of trees the girl was hidden in.

Eventually, he parked back at home when he decided to retrace his steps and how he found her. Hane Kuriboh was able to remember the path that was taken, but this time they took their time to look around. Judai reached the trees and had found nothing thus far, but he was optimistic since his search had just begun.

He wandered around through the trees a bit and passed through the clearing he was in yesterday. "Sense anything?" Judai asked. Both Yubel and Hane Kuriboh felt nothing out of the ordinary. "Hey, the street is over on his side," Judai noticed and started through the brush.

As he walked, he noticed the already broken stems and twigs of plants. They were all low to the ground. The girl might have come through this way. Judai originally thought she got there from the park on the other side, but now it appeared there was a chance his first assumption was incorrect.

He got to the end of the cluster of trees and found himself at a chain fence up against a sidewalk and a low-traffic street on the other side. When he looked over, he found a place where the fence was split at a pole and one of the connecting links to hold on the pieces to the pole was broken towards the bottom. Judai knelt down to get a closer look. With the back of his hand, he pushed against the fence to test out far it could open. Then he grabbed some of the links and pulled it towards him carefully, finding that it indeed opened wider going into the trees than out.

"Interesting," Judai said aloud and stood back up. "Yubel, wanna help me over this fence?" he asked.

"_You can get over it yourself, can't you?_"

"With some effort, but I'm tired, please?"

Yubel sighed. "_Of course_," the spirit said with a slight roll of her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless. By lending Judai some strength and stamina for just a few seconds, he was able to jump straight up without a running start to catch the top of the fence and pull himself over to land smoothly on the other side.

"Phew, thanks," he said. He looked around again to make sure no one saw him.

It appeared to mostly be businesses on this side. He already knew that though. The drycleaners he and Asuka used was up the street on the corner. Further down where he stood now, he could see an antiques shop, an art gallery, a dance studio, and a bicycle shop. He was pretty sure a convenience store was next to the drycleaners, so he headed up the street that way.

He had asked to the cashier in the shop if anyone had come through asking about a missing child, and they said that the police were in there the night before asking the same thing. No signs were put up, even though there was space for one in the window. Due to the situation, there weren't any signs to put up because they already found the child, now they just needed the legitimate guardians to come forward. Judai thanked them before purchasing an iced tea that he could drink as he strolled back down the other way.

There didn't appear to be anything suspicious around here, but he kept an eye out nonetheless. He knew how to look like an idle tourist or shopper and was able to take his time and appear to be window shopping while he was really checking out the area for spirits or anything out of place. There was a mental note made of every face that passed by in either direction. Every once in a while he would pay a little closer attention to someone whenever they looked like they were looking for something or were in a visible mood.

Judai made it down to a shop that sold infant and baby supplies, like clothes, toys, learning tools, and furniture. He didn't know a shop like this was so close to where he and Asuka were living. It got him thinking. For all he knew, he could be back at this very shop within the year. They were close to ready to start their family. Settled into their lives and the world was in another time of peace concerning paranormal and dueling-related matters, all they had to do when they were ready was start trying. Judai didn't know how much longer this time of peace would last, but he sensed it was going to last a while, so maybe a year or two before another serious threat came along that he would have to personally take care of.

With Asuka's teaching career, Judai knew he would be the one to set aside the dueling tournaments for a while to look after their infant after her maternity leave would end. If anything came up that required Judai to be away from home as well, both his and Asuka's parents could help them out, and those weren't their only options.

Still, after thinking about it time and time again, Judai had a hard time seeing himself as a father. He wasn't sure why. It seemed to come so easily to Johan though. Judai wondered if it would be anything like that for him as well. Though he was almost sure he would make every classic mistake in the book.

"We already searched this area three times, she must be long gone by now," a male voice said in passing. Judai listened in as he continued to drink his tea and look interested in the shop windows.

"I can't believe we lost her," a second male voice sighed. "What else are we supposed to do?"

"At least we found the woman, but we need to find that kid," the first voice added.

This conversation certainly perked Judai interest. When he sneaked a glance at who was walking by, he knew he had already seen both men in passing on just this stretch of the road. First they were seen separately, now they were together.

Judai reached into his pocket, feeling for something he hoped was still in there from his last mission. He smirked when it was. Ready, he turned and followed the two men and quickly caught up to them. Reaching up, he patted the shoulder of one, causing them both to turn and face him. They were both taller than him. Judai was used to that though. He grew a little taller in his young adulthood, but he still wouldn't be considered tall.

"What?" the first man said gruffly. Both men were wearing duel disks. Judai was itching to duel, but he had to be more subtle than that.

Judai put his hand behind his own head and bowed politely. "Uh sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear that you lost something?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I can tell you're not from around here, in general the people of this neighborhood are kind, so you might try lost and founds or the police station if you lost something really important," Judai offered.

"Sure, we'll do that, thanks," the man nodded and quickly turned back to keep walking.

"_You're pretty good at that, neither one noticed you planted one of O'Brian's trackers on him_," Yubel praised.

"Yeah, well so far they are the only suspicious things I've come across today, so I'm going to find out what they're up to," Judai said. "You heard what they said, maybe they're looking for… the kid." He really wished he knew her name.

"_They do not appear to be related to her_," Yubel pointed out.

Judai nodded. "You're right. This is why I directed them to the police if they are willing to go. Even if I did find her guardians, I can't just hand the kid over to someone anyway since Asuka and I took legal responsibility for her, they have to go through the police."

Yubel agreed there. These men were their only lead so far, so it was worth looking deeper into. Still, there might still be some clues around that he could sense or find that the police could not, so he was going to continuing looking for a little while longer.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Looks like Judai and Yubel found a clue. What else might they find?


	4. The Next Step

**Yu-gi-oh! GX  
Lost Blue-Eyed Child**

**Chapter 4: The Next Step**

Judai kept wandering while looking for clues and talking to people in the area for hours before he decided to head home late that afternoon. Along the way his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. He looked at it and saw it read Austin O'Brian on the display, so he answered it right away.

"Hey, I see you noticed I activated a tracker," Judai began.

"Yes, so what's going on?" O'Brian asked casually.

"Nothing urgent, well it's kind of urgent, do you have a few minutes so I can explain?" Judai asked.

"Sure," O'Brian said.

Judai explained how he came across the mute girl that could see spirits, but there have been no missing child reports, so he and Asuka took her home to care for while the official investigation continued. He and Yubel thought there was something fishy and looked around, and there were some guys talking and acting like they were up to something so Judai wanted to see what they were up to because they might be a clue towards finding out where the girl came from and where she belongs.

"Well you were right about tracking this guy, he's been circling the same few blocks since the tracker was activated, I'll send you the data," O'Brian said.

"Interesting, I'm on my way home now, so I'll see it in a few minutes," Judai said. "I'll call you back," he added and they both hung up after O'Brian's acknowledgment.

Judai put his phone back in his pocket and proceeded on his way.

"_Judai, look,_" Yubel stopped him.

"What?" Judai looked around.

"_There, the flowers_," Yubel pointed at an open flower shop.

Judai sighed in relief. Yubel always had a love of flowers. "Yes, they're nice," he said as he went over to look at them.

"_You should buy some flowers for Asuka,_" Yubel said. "_I like these ones,_" she looked at one variety of white ones.

"Okay, we'll get some of those and we can mix them into a bouquet," Judai said. "I'm going to get some of these red ones too. Think these look good together?"

"Nice choice, sir," the shop attendant said. It surprised Judai for a second.

"Oh, and do you have little bouquets, like for kids?" he asked the young woman.

"We have daisy bouquets at the counter, something like that?" she offered.

Yubel nodded so Judai nodded too. "Okay, I'll get one of those too." He followed the shop attendant to the counter so he could get ringed up and he picked out a colorful daisy bouquet for the girl.

"Are these for a special occasion? Birthday, anniversary, or something else?" the shop attendant asked while wrapping up the red and white flowers into a bouquet.

"Nope, just because," Judai shrugged. He figured he didn't have to explain it was for his wife due the wedding band on his finger. They were for Yubel, since Yubel liked them and wanted him to buy them. He knew the flowers could be for anybody in his life from the view of the attendant.

"Are these apology flowers?" she laughed nervously.

"Nope, just because," Judai repeated. The only time Judai got apology flowers for Asuka, it was actually just one flower, a rose, and it wasn't that she was actually angry with him, but he felt bad for canceling a date because of a duel. "I just got back from business overseas last night, so I'm doing something nice. Sometimes I make dinner, or we go out, and today is flowers," he explained.

"That's nice, well here you go," the shop attendant said after setting the bouquets down on the counter. Judai held up his card for the payment method and soon it was swiped and he got his receipt.

Once he left the shop he looked at Yubel. "Think she'll like them? I don't do flowers often."

"_Oh yes_," Yubel nodded. "_I bet she'll even get out her mother's vase to put them in_."

Judai carried the bouquets back home. As usual, he continued to keep an eye out, but didn't see anything of interest. Yubel didn't sense anything and Hane Kuriboh didn't noticed anything either. When he reached his complex, he checked the mail.

"I'm back," Judai announced when he finally got back inside.

He placed the mail on the table as Asuka approached from the living area. "How did it go?" she asked.

"Might have lead on something," he said. "I have to check some data, but here," he said and presented her the flowers in his other hand.

"What's this for?" she asked as she took the flowers and smelled them.

"Just because," he said. "Yubel picked out the white ones," he told her.

"They're nice, thank you both," she smiled. "I should get these in some water." She moved into the kitchen area and put the flowers down on the counter so she could reach for a vase. Yubel was right, Asuka did retrieve the vase her mother gave her.

Judai moved to the living area where the mute girl was playing a video game. It was one of the many duel simulation games Judai had picked up. This was one where you could design your character and the player has to duel through elemental levels and win better cards for your deck to beat the final boss. It was also single player. Many of the tournament style games Judai owned had the option of multiplayer, however he rarely used them when he had guests because they could just go outside and duel with their own decks and duel disks.

"I know you're probably itching to go home by now," Judai started to the girl. "Here's something to help you feel better," he grinned and presented the daisy bouquet. "You should show them to Asuka and see her flowers too," he said as he offered it to her.

The girl seemed happy. She looked at the flowers before hopping off the couch and running into the kitchen to show them to Asuka. Judai picked up his laptop and sat down on the couch to check out the data O'Brian sent him.

He looked over the map and every point the tracker recorded were in the same area and they never stopped in one place for long. They had circled the same half mile three times in this set of data. Judai was about to call O'Brian when he saw another set of data was sent to him, so he looked at it first.

It appeared the person that was being tracked had spent some time around the park Judai visited yesterday and had passed by this apartment complex just a short time ago. In fact, they might have been behind Judai by mere minutes. Just what were they up to just walking around this residential area after so much time circling the community areas? Judai considered they might live nearby, but his gut was telling him to be suspicious.

Judai felt a hand on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Asuka standing behind the couch. "Is everything alright?"

"Hard to say," he answered honestly. "I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet, but I have a suspicion that these two guys are looking for her and that something bad happened yesterday."

Asuka was silent as she thought about it. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"For now, I have to wait," he said. "How did things go with the kid while I was gone?"

Asuka thought for a moment. "Dr. Kouga called and we discussed some communication strategies to try, so after I was done on the phone, I tried a drawing exercise with her. I asked her to draw her family or her house, and she drew that," she pointed to the table Judai currently had his feet on.

Judai moved his laptop aside and picked up the papers. "Stick-figures," he chuckled.

"As you can see, there is a man, a woman, and a child," Asuka observed.

Judai looked at it again. There was a tall figure with short hair, a figure wearing a dress with long hair, and a child. "So she does have parents out there somewhere," he added.

"I think so," Asuka agreed.

"Wait, what's this?" Judai looked at some other papers with drawings. "Is this us?" he asked and Asuka nodded.

"I asked her to draw us, because I wanted to make sure the previous drawing wasn't just us, as you can see, there are a number of differences," she said. "For one, she drew Yubel."

Judai chuckled. "Yeah she did, I didn't think she had got a good look at Yubel." The male figure had spiky hair and the female figure was wearing Asuka's clothes and hairstyle. "Oh and there's Hane Kuriboh, that's so awesome!" he grinned and looked at the next one.

"There I asked for her to draw her house."

"That's a lot of windows for a house," Judai observed. "Think it's an apartment?"

"Very likely," Asuka nodded.

"Did she talk at all today?" Judai asked as the girl came back to them to sit with him on the couch.

"Not a word," Asuka said and looked like she was going to say something else, but paused. "I'll tell you later," she said.

Judai titled his head in confusion. "Alright." He picked up his laptop and moved to the table. "I'm going to make some phone calls," he informed.

The first call be made was short. Most of his conversations with O'Brian followed that trend though. O'Brian told Judai to figure out what the men he tracked were up to, because they were likely up to no good due to their travel pattern. If they were related to Judai's current mission, then great, if not, it was still something to be addressed.

Judai sighed heavily. "Work, work, work," he muttered as he typed some notes. "Oh yeah," he said to himself and picked up his phone again. "Gotta call Johan," he said. He nearly forgot again. It should be about nine o'clock in the morning there, so it was safe for Judai to call now and not disturb his friend's sleep nearly halfway around the world.

Their conversation lasted a little longer, but was still fairly short. Judai told him he would write him an email about his latest case so Johan could get back to his children who required his attention. When Judai hung up the phone, he noted the battery needed to be charged so he got up to put his cell phone on his dresser in the bedroom where he kept the charger.

He noticed one of the drawers was slightly ajar so he looked inside to find his clothes were already cleaned and put away. Asuka must have put them in the washer while he was gone. "Hey, Asuka?" he called for her when he exited their room.

"Yeah?" she responded.

"Do you do my laundry?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered and looked at him as he stood next to the couch.

"Thank you," he said. Judai wasn't expecting her to do it. "Tomorrow I think I'll make an all American breakfast," he grinned.

"Do we have the ingredients for that?" Asuka wondered.

"Yeah, I saw it last night," he nodded.

"It's been a while since I've had that kind of breakfast, even though I used to eat it all the time," she said.

"While you were in America?" Judai chuckled.

"Of course, there were some great places to eat around campus," she smiled fondly at the memory of her college days, the parts she got to have leisure time. She worked so hard that she didn't allow herself to have as much fun as she would have liked. American food was one of the few things she got to be adventurous about in college. Some was great, some was not. From the stories of Judai's worldly adventures, he visited America some frequently and had also got to try many things while he was there, so they had plenty to talk about food-wise when they rekindled their friendship when they up again.

Hane Kuriboh got Judai's attention to make him go back to the bedroom. Judai followed the small spirit and saw the lit display on his phone from the doorway before he heard the vibration against the dresser. He quickly moved to answer it and was surprised by the name on displayed on the screen.

"Yugi?" he questioned himself before answering. "Hello," he began.

"Hi Judai, this is Yugi, it's been a while," the man on the other end began.

"Yes it has been," Judai smiled pleasantly. "Is this call social or business?" Judai heard Yugi chuckle nervously. "It is business, isn't it? What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to check up on you," Yugi began. "You see, I'm in L.A. right now, I'll be back for this promotional event soon, but I just wanted to check how Domino is doing?"

Judai hummed to himself as he thought. "I was in Scandinavia up until yesterday, and before I could do anything I started working to help this lost child who can also see spirits find her parents and it hasn't been easy so far, so I haven't even been able to do a sweep of the city yet…"

Yugi was silent for a more than few seconds and Judai began to wonder if the call disconnected. "So nothing major is happening at least, that's a relief, I just had a feeling I should call and check on you."

"I understand, and even though I haven't sensed anything to worry about, I'll do a sweep soon," Judai assured. "This city, you know?" He added humorously.

Yugi chuckled. "It attracts weird trouble, I know," he said. "Oh by the way, have you heard about my upcoming event with my friend?"

"Oh yeah, I saw a poster while I was out yesterday," Judai nodded.

"I have some passes to give away, so if you're interesting in coming–"

"Whoa, are you serious?"

"Yes, could I come by when I get back to Domino and give them to you?" Yugi inquired. "It would be nice to see you again."

"Of course, it's been a while," Judai agreed. "Do you know what day you'll be back?"

"Unfortunately, not quite yet, just soon, but I will call you before I head over."

"Alright, works for me, I'll let Asuka know as well."

They finished up and Judai put his phone down again and made sure it was still charging.

"Huh, so many calls today, I must be popular," he chuckled at his own joke before heading back to the main room to tell Asuka.

Some time passed before Asuka decided to start on their dinner by herself, so Judai moved himself and his laptop back to the couch so he would be out of the way. He stared at the screen and tried to plan his next course of action. Really, he had done everything he could. All that was left was to keep looking and keep an eye of the people he was tracking in case they were connected to the girl somehow.

He finally turned off the laptop and started to help Asuka when someone knocked on the door. Judai moved to answer it and found Doctor Kouga on the other side.

"What brings you by?" Judai asked as he stepped aside to let the man enter.

"I told Asuka-san that I could possibly bring over a foster care package when I did an inspection of your home," he said.

"An inspection?" Judai repeated unhappily. "What's this about?"

"It's just standard procedure, really I just had to make sure you had a certain standard of living that was suitable for a child," Doctor Kouga explained.

"Uh-huh…" Judai frowned. No one inspected the roach infested Red Dorm years ago, which housed students too. It was far from standard compared to the other dorms. This apartment was a far cry from anything like the Red Dorm. While Judai was tolerant of certain living conditions, Asuka desired some comfort and security in her living space, which this apartment provided.

While Asuka greeted and spoke with the psychologist, Judai continued prepping dinner in the kitchen area as he listened to them. The foster care package was a bag with just a few items for the kid. It included a set of pajamas, a pair of pants with an elastic waistband, a simple t-shirt, a pair of socks and underwear, house slippers, a hairbrush, and a stuffed animal. If they needed anything else, they were urged to give him a call. When the girl's guardians were found or a more permanent arrangement settled in the event they are not found soon, they could simply pack up the bag and send it with her to keep.

"Thank you for bringing this stuff, I was about to ask my brother to get some of my childhood clothes from our parent's house, but he's already pretty busy that they trip out there on short notice would have been a hassle," she explained.

Asuka offered Doctor Kouga to stay for dinner, but he declined due to other business he had to attend to. To be polite, Asuka walked him outside and saw him get into his car, which was parked on the street. When she returned, dinner was all but ready.

"Thank you for taking over," Asuka said as she gathered the dished to get ready.

Judai chuckled. "You don't have to thank me," he said. "Hey, kid," he called over to the girl. "Take a seat over here and we'll eat," he told her. The girl was looking through the bag she had been given. When she sat down, the table was already being set with their side dishes.

After they ate, Asuka took the girl to the bath and gave her the new pajamas to dress in afterwards. Then she and Judai cleaned up the kitchen. "What's your plan for tomorrow?" she asked.

"I will probably head out with the kid, continue searching, I was thinking about looking for any apartment buildings that look kind of like the picture she drew," he explained. "I'll keep talking to her too, hopefully she'll respond at some point."

"Alright," Asuka responded and then tidied up the living room area. She was about to close the curtains when she looked outside. "That's weird, I think that's Doctor Kouga's car, what is it still doing here?" she said.

"Huh?" Judai came up next to her and looked outside too. "The green one parked on the street side?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was sure I saw him get into that car when he was getting ready to leave," she said.

"Could be a different green car?" Judai suggested.

Asuka thought about it. "I guess it could, but what are the odds?" she asked.

Judai nodded at that and then noticed something. "I'm going to check something," he said and started for the door where he put on his shoes and jacket.

"Judai," Asuka stopped him when he put on his duel disk. "Be careful."

He smiled for her. "Sure," he said and opened the door.

Judai jogged through the parking lot and to the street where the green car was parked under a streetlamp. He frowned when he approached it. The lights inside the car were still on, the key was in the ignition, but the engine wasn't running, there was no sign of the doctor, and the driver side door was slightly ajar.

"As I thought…" he said and looked around. It was already fairly dark, even with the streetlamps. "But where did they go?" There were plenty of shadows for someone or something to hide in. Darkness wasn't enough to hide from him though.

"_Judai_," Yubel appeared. "_Do you feel this_?"

"Yeah." His eyes turned gold and he stared into the distance, closing in on something. "There," he said. He patted his deck to make sure it was still there and then ran off. He and Yubel knew this feeling well. There was a duel spirit here and it was still close.

Judai ran pretty far. He should have used the motorcycle at this rate. The spiritual energy he sensed was already fading. Whatever it was, it must have been summoned for only a minute. There wasn't a duel. He would have sensed a duel from inside his home. Whatever happened to Doctor Kouga was quick.

Hane Kuriboh jumped out from the deck and flew off ahead of him. Even in his surprise, Judai knew to follow the small spirit. He didn't like the direction he was heading. There was a group of warehouses just up ahead.

"Why is it always a warehouse?" Judai grumbled as he carefully followed Hane Kuriboh inside one which was clearly labeled as a rice storage center for some company.

It was very dark, but he didn't have a problem with that. He could see fine in the dark. Hane Kuriboh circled around him as the spirit tried to sense an exact location. Judai waited patiently until the spirited stopped looking and turned to him confused. He had the spirit return to the deck and looked around himself. There had to be a reason Hane Kuriboh came to this location.

"Doctor?" Judai called out as he walked silently between rows of highly stacked crates. "Doc, are you here?"

Judai heard a noise nearby and zeroed in on its source. Doctor Kouga was lying face down on the concrete.

"Doc!" Judai ran to him and rolled him over. "Are you okay? Say something."

The doctor looked at him. The man was obviously shaken up, but coming to. "Yuki-san, no, you should've have come," he said.

Judai pulled the man up to sit and held him up. "What are you talking about, who did this to you?"

Doctor Kouga grabbed Judai's jacket. "They're after her!"

"The kid?"

"I didn't tell them, I didn't tell them she was with you, but they probably already know, they must have followed me to you, I'm sorry…"

Judai frowned. "Put your arm around me, let's get you out of here," he said as he began to guide the man through the dark and outside.

When he put the man back down, he reached for his cellphone in his pocket so he could call an ambulance for the doc. He reached in one pocket and then the other.

"Oh no," he said.

Back home, Judai's cellphone was buzzing repeatedly on his dresser as someone tried to call him. The display read Austin O'Brian.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Things are happening. Will they ever get the mysterious child home?


End file.
